The Internet is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from protocols of the sending network to the protocols used by the receiving network (with packets if necessary). When capitalized, the term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
The Internet has become a cultural fixture as a source of both information and entertainment. Many businesses are creating Internet sites as an integral part of their marketing efforts, informing consumers of the products or services offered by the business or providing other information seeking to engender brand loyalty. Many federal, state, and local government agencies are also employing Internet sites for informational purposes, particularly agencies which must interact with virtually all segments of society, such as the Internal Revenue Service and Secretaries of State. Providing informational guides and/or searchable databases of online public records may reduce operating costs. Further, the Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for commercial transactions.
Currently, the most commonly employed method of transferring data over the Internet is to employ the World Wide Web environment, also called simply “the Web”. Other Internet resources exist for transferring information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. In the Web environment, servers and clients effect data transaction using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a known protocol for handling the transfer of various data files (e.g. text, still graphic images, audio, motion video). The information in various data files is formatted for presentation to a user by means of a standard page description languages such as the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and extensible markup language (XML). In addition to basic presentation formatting, HTML allows developers to specify “links” to other Web resources identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is a special syntax identifier defining a communications path to specific information. Each logical block of information accessible to a client, called a “page” or a “Web page”, is identified by a URL. The URL provides a universal, consistent method for finding and accessing this information, not necessarily for the user, but mostly for the user's Web “browser”. A browser is a program capable of submitting a request for information identified by an identifier, such as, for example, a URL. A user may enter a domain name through a graphical user interface (GUI) for the browser to access a source of content. The domain name is automatically converted to the Internet Protocol (IP) address by a domain name system (DNS), which is a service that translates the symbolic name entered by the user into an IP address by looking up the domain name in a database.
When a user enters a domain name through a GUI for a browser to access a source of content and navigates through the content using mouse, keyboard, or other suitable inputs, such as voice and tactile input. Currently most non-secure browser sessions monitor for inputs to the displayed page and subsequently timeout when a predefined period of “no inputs”, or “inactivity” is reached. Upon reaching a timeout condition, the website may revert to a default page or simply lock on the last displayed page, disallowing any further activity without the reentry of a username and/or password. However, these sites do not provide a means for a user to specify what web page is displayed after a timeout condition is reached. In addition, some sites leave the last viewed page displayed regardless of the sensitivity of the information on the page. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a browser feature that replaces a currently displayed window upon detecting a period of inactivity such that the original web page is no longer displayed. The new web page would then protect the user's confidential or otherwise sensitive information previously displayed.